A Sociocultural Perspective on Researcher Identity and Agency: A Case Study of Indonesian TESOL Academics

The study examines the researcher identity and agency of Indonesian TESOL academics from a sociocultural perspective using a conceptual framework informed by Vygotsky's Genetic Method and the Cultural Historical Activity Theory. It brings voices from three Indonesian TESOL academics to represent the Global South. Using a multiple case study design, the study gathered data from interviews, shadowing, diaries, and documents. The findings show that researcher identity meanings vary across individuals, and one individual can hold more than one meaning. It also found complementary and contradictory factors which influence researcher identity development, and researchers take different agentive moves to negotiate any tensions.